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Philadelphia - Luc Richard Mbah a Moute never thought he would be out this long.

The Milwaukee Bucks forward underwent right patella surgery shortly after last season ended.

But here it is five games into the regular season, and the 26-year-old Cameroon native has yet to participate in a practice.

Mbah a Moute is traveling with the Bucks on road trips and working out diligently with assistant coach Bill Peterson and strength and conditioning coach Jeff Macy.

No timetable has been established for a return, but Mbah a Moute believes he will be able to contribute again fairly soon.

"I'm progressing," Mbah a Moute said. "I'm almost there. I've got to continue to trust these trainers and continue to work on my conditioning.

"I never had surgery before, so it's been really frustrating for me. You live and you learn. It's part of the reality of sports. The injury I had, it's a tough injury. I'm just hoping at the end of this, I don't have to deal with this again."

Patella injuries (involving the kneecap area) can sideline players for extended periods. Indiana star Danny Granger recently received an injection for what the Pacers termed "left patella tendinitis" and the team announced he would be sidelined for three months.

Mbah a Moute struggled with right knee pain throughout last season and missed 19 games due to tendinitis. And when he did play, his effectiveness and lateral movement were limited due to the pain.

That was a problem for the 6-foot-8 Mbah a Moute, known as the Bucks' defensive stopper and a player often assigned to guard the other team's top scorer, be it LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant.

At least Mbah a Moute will return during a full 82-game schedule, giving him plenty of chances to contribute. He was hampered at the start of last season due to injury and never truly recovered during the lockout-shortened season.

"It will still be early enough to come back and play a long and good season," Mbah a Moute said. "Whenver that time comes, I know I'll be happy though."

Second-year pro Tobias Harris has been starting at small forward with veteran Mike Dunleavy playing a key role off the bench.

Harris made a promising start in the season opener in Boston on Nov. 2 when he scored 18 points but has struggled recently.

The 20-year-old had five points in 15 minutes against Washington on Friday night and scored two points and had two rebounds in 10 minutes against Boston on Saturday.

"I think Tobias is doing a good job," Mbah a Moute said. "He's still fairly new and learning his way through this league at a tough position.

"He didn't play a lot last year. In his position he's going to have some ups and downs. As long as his trajectory keeps going up, I think it's good."

Mbah a Moute will be an option at small forward, particularly since the Bucks have so many power forwards on the roster. He has played both forward spots in the past.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles said he would not plan a certain role for Mbah a Moute yet.

"Are we playing well at the time and do we have roles established?" Skiles said. "Or, is the opposite happening?

"We have to wait and see where we are at that time and see exactly when he comes back, see what kind of condition he's in, those kind of things."

Shooting slump: It has hardly been a dream start to the season for Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova.

The 6-10 Ilyasova is missing shots, including some wide-open looks.

In the first five games Ilyasova is shooting 29.4% from three-point distance and 29.8% overall.

He was just 3 of 12 and finished with 10 points in the Bucks' home loss to Boston on Saturday night.

"Sometimes the best thing to do is leave him alone and let him work himself out of it," Skiles said. "It gets in his head a little bit. He's shooting the ball and his feet are moving; he's drifting all over the place. He's just not real solid with it right now.

"He's just got to make sure it doesn't affect other parts of his game, and eventually they'll go in for him."